http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?id=4623
Sat, 16 Oct 2010 04:24:54 +0000PunBB 1.4.2http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=35832#p35832
Hello Jim...and welcome to our site. Congratulations on having a successful surgery. You certainly have had your share of medical issues to begin with and look at you now. You seem to be in great spirits and it sounds as if you are feeling well also. Good news all around. Just the thing we like to hear. I wish for continued success and please, stay in touch. Best wishes,Marion]]>Sat, 16 Oct 2010 04:24:54 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=35832#p35832http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=35828#p35828
Jeff, I hope everything has progressed well for Marc. I thought I would share my experience with you. I don't know the tumor size in my case, but the result was a left hepatic lobe resection done at NY Presbyterian April '09. The surgeon was T. Kato and he removed ~ 50% of the liver during the procedure. I should point out I was a particularly risky patient (70 years old, implanted AICD (pacer/defibrilator) and a severe heart attack survivor who had an emergency bypass and mitral valve repair done in 2001). I suffered about 35% cardiac damage, but was functioning OK after.

The procedure done by Dr. Kato went on for about 12 hours (lots of pathology breaks). I caused the surgical team some excitement by having VT (tachycardia) events during surgery, but no more permanent harm done. There was no evidence of remaining cancer from the post op pathology report, and the surgeon recommended no further treatment. However, the sharp eyed oncologist at NY Presbyterian saw comments by the pathologist that some very aggressive tissue had been removed.

In June '09 I began six months of Gemzar chemotherapy as a precautionary step.

I am now on a six month cycle of oncology followup at NY Presbyterian, and so far, have been clean.

Good luck to you in the future.

]]>Sat, 16 Oct 2010 01:02:05 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=35828#p35828http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32904#p32904
Great to hear about your plans, Jeff. I have heard great things about the Alaska cruise. Have fun.Best wishes,Marion]]>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:08:06 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32904#p32904http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32899#p32899
Agreed Marion and thanks for your positive thoughts. Even though it is one of those times where it is kind of a downer, at least now we can get back on focus with the chemo and continuing life as normal. We are going on an Alaska Cruise in September and making big plans for the 2010 Holidays. So we are moving on!]]>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:44:22 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32899#p32899http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32896#p32896
Jeff....For me clarifications seem to have a positive effect. You now have a plan, Marc feels good, and may it continue. Have a nice day.Best wishes,Marion]]>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:31:51 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32896#p32896http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32894#p32894
Dr Tham said that the surgeon felt that the tumor is still to large for surgery. And come to find out, the radiologist was able to prove that the tumor is still wrapped around the blood vessels. Hence, the reason for no surgery.

At first Dr Tham was only going to administer 8 rounds of chemo. But she has now decided that Marc can do chemo indefinitely until it is not working anymore or that he starts to have extreme side affects. Luckily Marc has not gotten sick or lost any hair from chemo. Dr Tham will then consider radiation once chemo is no longer working.

I am sorry to hear that Marc's doctor said no to surgery. That must have been hard to hear. But Marc's fight is not over with this news so please do not give up hope. I hope that the chemo works as best it can and I will be keeping my fingers crossed for this.

Best wishes to you and Marc,

Gavin

]]>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:06:33 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32886#p32886http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32876#p32876
Jeff......I suppose that you will receive more detailed information when visiting with Dr. Tham tomorrow. Marc has not signed up for the chemotherapy to quit working therefore, I wish for continued success. Please, keep us posted.Good luck and best wishes,Marion]]>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:20:42 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32876#p32876http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32865#p32865
Well, we heard from Dr. Tham and the Surgeon said no surgery. There was no explanation as Marc will continue his chemo tomorrow and will talk to Dr Tham about it in person when he goes in tomorrow morning. So the game plan now is to continue chemo and then switch to radiation once the chemo stops working.]]>Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:20:40 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32865#p32865http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32783#p32783
Jeff.....I am also happy to hear the latest report on Marc. Either way, I would consider at least one more (better though, two) professional opinions. Once you are sure of the option for surgery then more information will have to be sorted through. In the meantime I am crossing my fingers for good news coming your way.Best wishes,Marion]]>Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:58:15 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32783#p32783http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32779#p32779
Jeff, I was diagnosed with CC in May 2004. Mine was one tumor, about 4-to-5cm in size. My surgeon mentioned size is just one consideration. Other things such as where it is located in the liver also matters. He also said up to 75% of the liver can be]]>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:42:16 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32779#p32779http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32778#p32778
Jeff,I have been wondering how Marc was doing, glad you are back to update us.

Surgery is scaring, but from my perspective worth the risk. Lets hope the surgeon thinks he can get it all and that for Marc cc is just a memory.

So many people on this Board have mentioned what size their tumors were, and I know that I have seen a number of them larger than 7 cm. At first I didn't know what size mine was, but checked a little while ago for comparison to others. The report I have says I had "8-10 tumor deposits up to 16 cm in greatest dimension". I had the left lobe removed and a part of the right lobe, with the gallbladder and a bile duct. All-in-all, the surgeon said it was 40% removed, but with a 16cm tumor, I don't know how that would be possible. Still the report does say 16cm. My surgery was in Apr 09, and I did well, with recovery of about 8 weeks. The only complication at the time was an abcess 2 weeks after surgery requiring a drain that was removed a week later.

Best of luck to all of you.

Linda

]]>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:28:45 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32773#p32773http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32764#p32764
Hi Jeff - I don't know if this will be of help to you or not. I was diagnosed with intrahepatic CC in Oct 2009 on January 19 2010 I had surgery. Medical term for my surgery was Right Trisegmentectomy they removed the right and caudate portion of my liver and then performed the bile duct resection. In the right side of my lliver I had an 8cm CC tumor with a 2cm satellite nodule right behind it. Again I don't know if this will help because my CC was inside of my liver howevery, I wish you the best of luck and will keep you and Marc in my thoughts and prayers. Nancy]]>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:00:07 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32764#p32764http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32761#p32761
Hello Everyone]]>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:19:55 +0000http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=32761#p32761